Football Headline

GAINESVILLE,
Fla. – Maybe someday
his memory will fill in the blanks from those lost 20 minutes, but a month
later, Darrin Kitchens only recalls bits and pieces of the night of Nov. 26.

For the 90,000-plus
fans at the Florida-Florida State game last month, certain images and sounds
linger fresh.

The sirens
whistling as an ambulance from Shands Hospital made its way to The Swamp. The
crowd was so quiet you could hear as the ambulance got closer and closer. The
Gators huddled around their fallen teammate as a medical team carefully worked
on Kitchens. The thumbs up to the crowd that Kitchens gave more than 15 minutes
after he dropped to the ground following a helmet-to-helmet hit on the opening
kickoff of the second half.

Kitchens has
seen video of the play and understands what happened, but as for the moment –
considered perhaps the most frightening of the Gators’ 2011 season – he draws
only blanks.

“I don’t
really remember anything,’’ Kitchens said. “I remember running down the field
and my chin strap came loose, so I was trying to buckle it up. That’s the last
thing I remember. The next thing I know I was talking to my trainer.’’

Kitchens was
knocked out cold when he and FSU’s Chad Abram collided head first. Kitchens was
trying to get in position to tackle FSU kick returner Lamarcus Joyner. Abram
was trying to make a block. Both players were dazed from the hit.

Abram got up.
Kitchens didn’t.

“There were a
lot of people scared,’’ said Anthony Pass, a UF associate director of sports
health and the football team’s head trainer. “With every injury when a player
is down and there is no movement, the first thing that comes into your head is,
‘Could this be a C-spine injury?’ Everything is based off protecting that
neck.”

That was
Pass’ primary job during those 20 minutes absent from Kitchens’ memory.

******

Kickoffs are
arguably the most dangerous plays in football. On one side you have a flock of
fast and athletic players sprinting down the field trying to crunch the kick
returner. On the other side you have players sprinting in the opposite
direction trying to hammer those coming their way.

You don’t
have to be an Albert Einstein to know violent collisions are inevitable

Kitchens is
one of UF’s better special teams players and a reserve linebacker. In the
previous week’s game against Furman, the sophomore from Homestead made his
first career start at linebacker while continuing to star on special teams.
Kitchens made a career-high 12 tackles against Furman and stepped onto the
field against the Seminoles full of confidence and energy in the annual rivalry
game. Prior to signing with the Gators, FSU was one of the other schools he
considered.

The last
place Kitchens expected to end the night was in a hospital, finally regaining
some lucidity when he looked in a mirror on the ceiling and saw himself
strapped to a back board, protected by a neck brace and still in full uniform.
Trainers had removed his facemask in the ambulance so he could see.

“I never
thought I would be in that position,’’ Kitchens said. “I realize it can happen
to anybody.’’

That harsh
reality is in sharp focus on the cover of the latest issue of Sports
Illustrated. The picture shows a smiling Eric LeGrand, sitting in his motorized
wheelchair and wearing his No. 52 black-and-red Rutgers jersey, returning to
the site of an injury that changed his life forever in October 2010.

LeGrand was
covering a kickoff that day when he collided with an Army return man. He didn’t
get up. The result was devastating: two fractured cervical vertebrae, spinal
cord damage and paralysis that initially made doctors fearful that LeGrand
would spend the rest of his life on a respirator as a quadriplegic.

More than a
year later LeGrand’s path to recovery has served as an inspiration to millions.

The day after
his appearance at Rutgers, LeGrand Tweeted, “So I left tire tracks in the snow
yesterday as I led my team out … next time will be footprints.”

A case such
as LeGrand’s is every trainer’s worst fear.

“Out of all
the orthopedic injuries – the knee, the ankle, the shoulder, the hand, the
elbow or whatever, if you have a problem with that c-spine, it could be life
threatening,’’ Pass said.

When Kitchens
was hurt, Pass was on the Gators’ sideline attending to a player that had been
injured late in the first half.

He didn’t
actually see the play. But he quickly realized he was needed immediately as
Kitchens lay on his back at the 25-yard line near Florida’s sideline.

“Darrin’s
down. Darrin’s down,’’ was all Pass heard before racing toward the field.

From there,
Florida’s medical team kicked into action using the methods they practice at
least three times a year with the Alachua County Fire and Rescue Department in
handling potential C-spine injuries.

Pass
immediately raced to Kitchens and took a position at his head. Once Kitchens
came to enough to tell trainers how he felt, Pass went on high alert as soon as
Kitchens said his neck hurt and that he was having difficulty feeling his arms.

At that point
Pass said “you are just kind of nervous’’ for the player and potential outcome.

Pass made
sure to instantly provide what is called “in-line stabilization’’ on Kitchens’
neck.

“I support
the head and I don’t let the head and neck move from the body, so if there is a
fracture, it’s not going to get worse by him moving,’’ Pass said.

When Kitchens
did wake up and tried to move, Pass told him to relax and not to make any
movements as the medical team prepared to put him on a scoop stretcher and
transport him to the waiting ambulance via a motorized cart they call “The
Gator.’’

The medical
team got lucky in one way.

“Darrin was
on his back, which is an ideal situation for this because we didn’t have to log
roll him,’’ Pass said. “Everything is orchestrated on a 1-2-3 count. Once he
was on the scoop stretcher, we had the spine board at his feet. Lift him on
1-2-3 for spine board. That’s the most movement we’ll do.’’

Once they got
Kitchens on the spine board, they locked him down from head to toe using
“spider straps” before lifting him onto the motorized vehicle.

Throughout
the process, Pass was the voice that Kitchens heard.

“My job at
the head is to make sure everyone remains calm, but most important is to make
sure Darrin knows that I’m here for him and that I’m not going to let anything
happen,’’ Pass said. “I think that the touch I have with him reassures him and
me – I won’t lie to you – that this kid is going to be OK. I just don’t want
you to be out there strapped to this board and thinking all these crazy
thoughts.’’

One of
Kitchens’ first questions to Pass was whether anyone had called his mom. As he
worked his final game as an ESPN analyst, New Mexico coach Bob Davies relayed
to viewers how important that is under these circumstances.

“One thing
you always think about in these situations, these trainers always have the
parents’ phone numbers, and they contact them immediately,’’ Davies said during
the live telecast. “That’s the best policy. The communication to the parents is
critical right now.’’

By that time
Pass’ medical team had already made arrangements to allow Sarah Durkin, wife of
linebackers coach D.J. Durkin and someone the Kitchens family knows personally,
to make the call.

“The parents
were informed the whole way. They got to talk to the doctor at the ER,’’ Pass
said.

Sarah Durkin
and Kitchens’ girlfriend later met Kitchens at Shands Hospital, where he was
transported by ambulance along with one of UF’s team doctors who was there to
relay information back to Pass at the game. Immediately after the game, Gators
coach Will Muschamp came to Pass for an update on Kitchens in a game that
featured several UF players leaving the game due to injuries.

But none as
alarming as seeing Kitchens lie motionless in front of a hushed crowd and
millions watching on TV.

“It’s always
scary when you deal with something like that,’’ Muschamp said.

******

During his
time at Shands, Kitchens was evaluated and had tests and X-Rays taken of his
neck. All the tests came back negative, and about four hours after the hit, Kitchens
was able to return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium under his own power.

Kitchens,
Pass, the Durkins, Kitchens’ girlfriend and other members of Florida’s medical
team were all smiles as they talked about the previous night. It was around
1:30 Sunday morning. Kitchens was slowly turning back to his old self despite a
headache and some grogginess.

The final
prognosis was a concussion, which considering the events of the past few hours,
was a relief.

In Pass’
seven seasons at UF, it was only the second time that he used a spine board
during a game. The other time was with Percy Harvin in 2006 at Florida State.
Harvin actually returned to the game in the fourth quarter.

“Most of the
spine boards that you do come out with in this type of scenario end up this way,’’
Pass said. “You don’t want to be on the ones that come out the other way.”

Kitchens was
cleared to return to full-contact practice this week when he made his final
visit to a neurologist. Kitchens said the MRI looked good and that his
concussion symptoms have faded.

When he
thinks back to Nov. 26, one moment stands out above the rest.

“When I’m
coming to, I didn’t really know what was going on,’’ Kitchens said. “I find
myself in the back of an ambulance. I’m just going through all my toes and all
my fingers, moving every body part. Thank God I had a lot of family and friends
praying out there because God came through for me.’’

Kitchens’
return to full-contact drills on Wednesday didn’t go unnoticed by his
teammates, who surrounded Kitchens as he lay on the field a month ago hoping
for the best.

“It was good
to see him just get back out there and running around,’’ fellow linebacker
Lerentee McCray said. “I talked to him before practice and asked, ‘What do you
think you’re going to be able to do today?’ He was like, ‘I’m just going to try
to ease back into it.’ It was real good to see him back out there because we
were kind of shocked when we saw him on the field. Everybody was worried.’’

As long he
doesn’t suffer another injury, Kitchens is expected to play in the Gator Bowl
on Jan. 2 against Ohio State.

Prior to
leaving for a six-hour drive on Thursday from Gainesville to Homestead to spend
Christmas with his family, Kitchens talked calmly about the scariest moment he
has ever experienced playing football. He also spoke about how grateful he is
to be able to still play the game.

For a few
moments as he lay on Florida Field on a cool November night, that seemed to be
in question.

“No player
wants to get hit like that,’’ Kitchens said. “It’s a relief. I’m glad it’s not
career-ending.’’